*Voces de la Frontera will hold a press conference on Tuesday, April 26th, at 11am at at 1027 South 5th Street to announce a community response*

Immigrant community promises massive mobilization on May First and urges City of Milwaukee to create local ID cards

Voces de la Frontera calls for a national and international boycott of Menard’s, one of the largest corporate donors to Governor Walker’s campaigns

MADISON, WI – This morning Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed SB533, a bill that blocks counties throughout Wisconsin from using their own resources to provide local identification cards. The bill stops Milwaukee’s city-county partnership to create local ID cards, the first such partnership in the nation. The Milwaukee Common Council and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed legislation creating the Milwaukee ID overwhelmingly in October and November of last year. The We Are All Milwaukee Coalition, representing undocumented immigrants, transgender community members, formerly incarcerated people, seniors, and homeless people, had advocated for the creation of the Milwaukee ID. Wisconsin cities can still create local identification cards, although the cards will be required to say “Not for Voting Purposes” on them.

In February, tens of thousands of striking immigrant and Latino workers, students, and families converged on the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest SB533 and another anti-immigrant bill since defeated in the Senate.

“Governor Walker and the Republicans in the State Legislature should be ashamed of themselves for taking away local governments’ ability to recognize and respond to the needs of some of their most vulnerable constituents, and they will suffer consequences for their bigotry,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. “We made it clear that if this bill was passed we would call for a boycott of one of Governor Walker’s largest corporate funders, and on May 1st, in Milwaukee and throughout the nation, we will be calling on all people who believe in the dignity of all people to boycott Menard’s. SB533 has no value except to continue to affirm and institutionalize the politics of hate, division, and scapegoating. We call on all people of conscience to not spend one dime in Menard’s for their home or business needs, and to help us spread the word.

“The City of Milwaukee can still create local IDs despite this legislation, and we urge the city to immediately move forward with creating an ID card. We invite everyone to march with us on May 1st at 2pm, from 1027 South 5th Street, where we will be marching as part of a national day of action to protest the politics of hate and division, which is exemplified by SB533.”